FLASH NEWS
After 12 years in the hellish camp in Syria, Eva Dumani returns to Tirana. She reunites with her mother and brother
2026-02-14 17:03:13 / EKONOMI&SOCIALE
After 12 years away from her homeland and a long ordeal in Syria, Eva Dumani has returned to Albania, reuniting with her mother and brother in Tirana. She was the last Albanian girl left in the infamous Al Hol camp, in northern Syria.
The 21-year-old arrived at Rinas Airport on February 14, in an operation involving the Anti-Terror structures of the State Police. She had previously been illegally smuggled out of Syria to Turkey with the help of her uncle.
She left at 9 years old, returned at 21 years old.
Eva's story begins in 2014, when she was just 9 years old. Her father, Shkëlzen Dumani, took her and her 7-year-old brother with the pretext of a weekend trip to Montenegro. He had requested a power of attorney from his wife to take the children out of Albania.
But the trip turned out to be just the first step towards Syria. After passing through Istanbul, he joined the war front. Years later, their father was killed in the conflict, leaving the two children alone in a war zone.
After 2019, Eva and her brother ended up in the Al Hol camp, which housed tens of thousands of women and children associated with Islamic State fighters.
The 2020 operation: Only the brother returned
On October 26, 2020, the Albanian government undertook a difficult repatriation operation to return women and children from Syrian camps. In that operation, only Eva's brother, Endri Dumani, then 13 years old, returned to Albania, along with four members of the Rasha family.
Eva remained in the camp. At the time, it was reported that she had gone into hiding and refused to return, but this information was never officially confirmed.
Years of effort to get him out of Syria
After years of efforts by her family, her uncle managed to get Eva out of the camp and across the Syrian-Turkish border about two weeks ago. Then, with the intervention of Albanian authorities, she finally returned to her homeland.
Her return marks the end of a 12-year separation from her mother and a 6-year separation from her brother, who is now 19 years old.
During their stay in the camp, Eva's family experienced another severe loss. Her grandmother, who had traveled to Syria in the hope of picking up her grandchildren, was trapped in the Al Hol camp and died there.
Eva's return to Albania closes a painful chapter for the Dumani family, as she will now face the challenge of a new life after more than a decade in one of the harshest camps in the Middle East.
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